Multi-hull convertible cargo carrier submarine

ABSTRACT

A mother sub in the form of a power tube hull housing the propulsion and control structure, has magnetically suspended therefrom and to respective sides of the power tube, linked cargo tube hulls which are readily detachable therefrom, while the mother sub is submerged or partially submerged. The linked cargo tube hulls are provided with perforated bulkheads at longitudinally spaced positions, permitting petroleum products to flow freely between compartments. The petroleum may be replaced by individual, sized, dry cargo containers inserted within the compartments formed by the bulkheads and removed therefrom through individual pivotable hatches.

United States Patent [191 Schoonman Aug.5, 1975 1 1 MULTl-HULL CONVERTIBLE CARGO CARRIER SUBMARINE [76] Inventor: Marten Leonard Schoonman, 906 N. Elam Ave., Greensboro, NC. 27408 [22] Filed: Feb. 11, 1974 [21] Appl. No: 441,598

[52] U.S.C1. 114/16 R; 14/16R [51] Int. Cl. 363g 8/00 [58] Field 01' Search 114/16, 77, 43.5, 72, 74,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,551,750 5/1951 Liskey, Jr. 114/201 A 3,003,452 10/1961 Sangerlaub 114/72 3,010,599 11/1961 Haines, Jr. et a1 114/74 A 3,083,669 4/1963 Bunn et a1. 114/74 A 3,204,154 8/1965 Crandell 335/289 3,368,510 2/1968 Humphrey 114/16 R 3,698,339 10/1972 Golay et a1 114/16 R Primary E.rarninerTrygve M. Blix Assistant E.\'aminer-Sherman Dv Basinger Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak [57] ABSTRACT A mother sub in the form ofa power tube hull housing the propulsion and control structure, has magnetically suspended therefrom and to respective sides of the power tube, linked cargo tube hulls which are readily detachable therefrom, while the mother sub is submerged or partially submerged. The linked cargo tube hulls are provided with perforated bulkheads at longitudinally spaced positions, permitting petroleum products to flow freely between compartments. The petroleum may be replaced by individual, sized, dry cargo containers inserted within the compartments formed by the bulkheads and removed therefrom through individual pivotable hatches.

15 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 1975 MULTI-HULL CONVERTIBLE CARGO CARRIER SUBMARINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to marine vessels, particularly submarine vessels, capable of shallow draft, but having substantially large cargo capacity.

2. Description of the Prior Art Marine vessels in the form of tankers for transporting petroleum have been constructed of a size measuring 1,000 feet or more in length and having a draft generally in the neighborhood of 75 feet. These large draft and relatively long tankers are thus prevented from entering, when completely loaded, most of the harbors in the world and, in particular. all of the harbors of the entire United States coast line. This requires, when loading the tanker, to partially load them to the capacity where they still have sufficient draft to permit egress from the harbor and the tankers are topped off outside of the harbor by transferring fuel from a barge or other storage tank remote from the harbor itself. The reverse occurs when the tankers come into port such as New York Harbor, for instance. By use of this decking" procedure, an oil barge is moved alongside a giant tanker by means of tugs or the like and the tanker dispenses some ofits oil to the barge until the time that the ship becomes buoyant enough and of sufficiently shallow draft to enter its berth in a river port surrounding the Manhattan penninsula. The draft, rather than being on the order of 75 feet, is then reduced to about half that and the tanker is easily moved directly into any of the U.S. coastline ports or other shallow ports of the world such as along the coast of France and the like. Further, by increasing the size of the tanker necessarily a large amount of time is required for the tanker to either discharge or load its cargo and the non-transport time is additionally increased by the requirement of the tanker to sit out in the harbor waiting for a berth prior to loading and/or unloading. Thus, during the year, the crew and the power unit of the tanker remain uselessly idle.

Attempts have been made to produce marine vessels such as tankers which are convertible in terms of the cargo carrier. That is, they have been provided with compartments capable of storing and transporting dry cargo. Where the cargo tanks or compartments have received miscible fuel, crude oil or the like, naturally the surfaces defining such compartments are covered with residual oil and these areas and the bilges must be cleaned and dry prior to replacement with the conventional dry cargo, either containerized or not. The cleaning of the bilge causes these pollutants to be discharged externally of the vessel, and while such activity is prohibited in the coastal area, regardless of where the discharge of the residuals takes place, the environment suffers.

With advent of new oil fields which have been found in Alaska and adjacent the Artic Ocean, the existence of the ice pack overlying that ocean prevents surface tankers from being effectively employed as a means for transporting crude oil and the like from Alaska and Canada to the more southern states for processing. Attempts have been made to solve this problem by producing a practical submarine tanker which can effectively travel long distances beneath the ice layer and effectively transport the crude oil from these fields throughout the major portion of the year.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Marine vessels of the present invention comprise a combination of a pair of side to side joined, or linked, tubular marine cargo hulls and a tubular power hull of similar configuration and dimensions overlying the paired cargo hulls and being removably coupled by way of its lower sidewalls to opposed upper sidewalls of respective cargo hulls when in a laterally aligned position with each of the cargo hulls. The cargo hulls have means permitting the cargo to be loaded therein and unloaded therefrom and means for controlling ballast of all three hulls. The cargo hulls can be loaded and unloaded in the absence of the detachable power hull. By submerging the dual cargo hulls to a depth permitting either a submerged or partially submerged power hull to be moved into overlying and laterally aligned position, coupling may be achieved by additionally submerging the power hull into surface contact therewith.

Preferably, the detachable coupling means comprises electromagnets within the power tube and magnetic material on the upper sidewalls of the dual cargo hulls which face the sidewalls of the overlying power hull. Positioning bars are carried at respective ends of both cargo bulls and project upwardly and are laterally spaced to form lateral pairs in excess of the width of the power hull and means are provided for shifting the bars laterally to laterally center the power hull with respect to the underlying pair of cargo hulls prior to operation of the means for coupling the power hull to the paired cargo hulls. The power hull is preferably provided with laterally projectable guide means on respective sides at fore and aft positions corresponding to the cargo hull positioning bars to limit fore and aft movements of the power hull relative to the underlying paired cargo hulls during positioning of the power hull with respect to the cargo hulls and coupling of the same.

The cargo hulls are provided with longitudinally spaced, lateral bulkheads which form individual cargo compartments. Hatches overlying respective compartments permit individual cargo containers of a size corresponding to the compartments to be insertably received therein. Preferably, the cargo containers are rectangular and tapered to facilitate their entry into and removal from the compartments and may be formed of fiberglass or of metal coated with fiberglass to reduce static friction.

Each pivotable hatch is provided with a fluid expandable sealing and locking gasket on the peripheral edge thereof facing and overlying the sidewall of the cargo hull defining the compartment opening, and the edge of the cargo hull forming the hatch opening is provided with a recess which in cross section has a portion interior of that portion flush with the hatch contact surface, of an enlarged width whereby the admission of fluid under pressure expands the hollow gasket to both seal and lock the hatch in closed position, with respect to the cargo hull.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of the improved multiple cargo hull and detachable power hull submarine vessel of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional, elevational view of the submarine vessel of FIG. 1, taken about line 2-2.

FIG. 3 is a similar sectional view to that of FIG. 2, but with the power hull detached from the dual cargo hulls with the hatches open and the individual cargo containers partially removed therefrom.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the submarine vessel shown in FIG. I during coupling of the two cargo hulls to the power tube.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view ofa portion of the vessel of FIG. 4 taken about line 5-5, showing one of the positioning bars in raised position.

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevational view of a portion of the power tube hull of FIG. 4 showing the make-up of one of the guide fins.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of one of the cargo hulls of FIG. 1 with a hatch in closed sealed position.

FIG. 8 is a similar sectional view of a portion of one of the cargo hulls of FIG. 7 with the hatch pivoted to partially open position and with sealing and locking gasket deflated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The submarine cargo ship of the present invention may be several hundred feet in length and may have a cargo carrying capacity of tens of thousands of tons, the size and dimensions and the power plant of the submarine vessel not being critical. It is necessary, however, that the submarine vessel comprise two distinct detachable parts or units, that is, a unit containing the power propulsion and control mechanism and a cargo carrying part or unit which may be readily detached therefrom subsequent to transport from one port to another and permitting the propulsion and control unit to immediately pick up a similar cargo unit, after release of the first cargo unit, for transport on a return trip. As shown in FIG. I, the make-up of the multi-hull submarine vessel of the present invention consists ofa mother sub and a daughter cargo carrier of a twin hull variety constituted by power tube hull l0 and the twin joined or linked, detachable cargo tube hulls l2 and 14. Hulls l2 and 14 are joined together as best seen in FIG. 2 in lateral alignment by a longitudinally extending coupling member 16. The exact make-up of hulls I0, 12 and 14 in terms of a rigid frame structure and metal plating is of no concern to the present invention, and in this respect, the twin cargo tube hulls I2 and 14 may be formed of tanker steel plate, the interior of which may be selectively flooded by the crude oil or other petroleum along with salt water (but sealed with respect to each other) to permit equal internal and external hydrostatic pressure regardless of depth of operation of the submarine. Hulls 10, I2 and 14 may be of equal length and diameter. Longitudinal bulkheads as at I8 along each side of the cargo hulls and bilge decking 19, forms a central cargo carrying area surrounded by side tanks formed thereby with tubular walls 22 and a bilge 24 for each of the cargo tube hulls l2 and 14. In this respect, the cargo tube hulls l2 and 14 are identical in all respects and like elements thereof are given identical numerical designations. An important aspect of the present invention is the provision of longitudinally spaced, transverse bulkheads 26 for each of the cargo tube hulls I2 and 14 forming cargo compartments 30. The transverse bulkheads may be provided with apertures or openings 28 to permit crude oil, processed petroleum and the like which is carried within hulls l2 and 14 to freely flow between one or more cargo compartments. The cargo compartments 30 are sealed from compartments 20 and 24 and from hollow hatches 21. To compartments 20 and 24 and hatches 21 may be selectively supplied sea water for ballasting purposes. Absent liquid petroleum or other cargo within compartments 30, sea water may be also pro vided to these compartments for additional ballast, that is, to permit submerging of the submarine, the control of the ballast being maintained by the mother ship or power tube hull 10 by control means (not shown) but associated therewith. Sea water inlet valves 27 within hull 10 provide ingress and egress of sea water for ballasting. In this respect, pumps, valves and other means (not shown) carried by the cargo tube hulls I2 and 14 for controlling the supply to or removal from sea water to compartments 20 and 24 as though sea water inlet valves 25 may be effected under remote control. In a wireless fashion, this may occur by a communication system including receivers within the cargo tube hulls l2 and 14 and transmitters within a power tube hull 10 or directly, by means of electrical connections which automatically occur by attachment of the power tube hull 10 to the twin cargo tube hulls I2 and I4. Supply and removal of petroleum cargo or sea water for ballasting may be effective in the manner of US. Pat. No. 3,698,339 from shore based equipment or from the power tube hull 10, as desired.

The mother ship or power tube 10 is provided with a conning tower as at 33 featuring twin stabilizer fins 36 located at a central position while at the stern, addi tional stabilizer fins 38 are provided just forward of the propeller 40 forming a portion of the propulsive means. Propulsion may be effected by diesel, atomic or electric power as is conventional in the art. It is noted that the twin cargo tube hulls l2 and 14 are totally passive, that is, they are not provided with propulsive means although modifications may be made assumming additional propulsion is necessary. However, this would complicate the submarine vessel in that additional control and power supply connections must be made between the mother ship and the broader dual hull cargo carrier. With the arrangement shown, the dual or twin cargo hulls l2 and 14 serve the function of forming a more stable marine vessel when completely submerged and, of course, in spreading the load laterally for the same cargo capacity, there is created a multiple hull submarine of reduced overall draft.

As mentioned previously, both the power tube hull l0 and the twin cargo hulls l2 and I4 are formed of tanker steel plate but in addition to this, are especially fitted with cooperating surface portions to readily permit detachable coupling between the mother ship and the cargo carrier. In this respect, the power tube hull 10 is provided with concave recesses along its length and to each side thereof. Outer hull 42 is provided with concave recesses 44 on opposite sides, below the beam, formed by magnetic plates 46 extending longitudinally a given length. Internally of hull 10, there are provided, as shown schematically in FIG. 2, paired electromagnetic coils 48 shown coupled electrically in series to a battery 50 and selectively energizable by a single pole, single throw switch 52 which is shown as being open. Conversely, the twin cargo hulls l2 and 14 are likewise formed of a magnetic material with the convex upper sidewalls 22 of both hulls l2 and 14 being attracted to the mother ship upon energization of the electromagnetic coils 48 and remain magnetically coupled thereto in the absence of demagnetization of the electromagnet coils.

While H6. 2 shows how coupling and decoupling may be achieved magnetically, in fact the electromagnetic coils 48 may have power selectively supplied thereto to create magnetic attraction or magnetic repulsion fields to permit quick disengagement or attraction between the mother ship and the cargo carrier.

In order to properly locate the mother sub with respect to the submersible cargo carriers, reference may be had to FlGS. 4, 5 and 6 along with FIG. 1 which illustrates the arrangement and use of fore and aft sets of positioning and guide rods 50 carried by cargo tube hulls 12 and 14 and the fore and aft sets of guide fins 52 carried by the mother sub, The most forward and most aft hatch 21 of each cargo tube hull l2 and 14 is longitudinally slotted or grooved as at 54, and as seen in FIG. 5, positioned within the slot or groove 54 is a rotatable rod carrier 56. At both ends of the groove 54, there is supported by way of pivot pins 60, the rod carrier 56 such that it rotates about a longitudinal axis in line with the groove 54 driven by a drive motor 62 fixed by way of brackets 64 to the underside of hatch 21 and being coupled directly to the pin 60. The rod carrier 56 constitutes an open top rectangular body and supports a positioning and guide rod 50 hinge mounted at one end by transverse pivot pin 66. The positioning and guide rod 50 has a length approximately equal to that of rod carrier 56 and the rod carrier has mounted therein a hydraulic ram 70 which is hinge mounted at respective ends to the rod carrier 56 at 72 and to the positioning and guide rod 50 at a point 74 intermediate of hinge pivot pin 66 and the outer end of the rod. The controlled application of fluid pressure to the hydraulic ram 70 which is otherwise conventional, causes the positioning and guide rod 50 to move between the extended or full line position and the retracted or dotted line position shown in FIG. 5 and vice versa. When extended, the rod is essentially perpendicular to the surface of the cargo hulls at each groove position, that is, as seen in FIG. 4 at the front and rear of the dual cargo hull assembly. Further, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, guide fins 52 which are essentially triangular in shape are pivotably mounted at one apex by way of pivot pin 80 within lateral recesses 82 of the mother sub hull 10. They are pivoted about the axis of pivot pin 84 from retracted full line position shown in FIG. 6 to a dotted line extended position by means of hydraulic ram 86 pivotably coupled at respective ends to hull l0 and plate 52 respectively.

The operation of the positioning and guide mechanism prior to energization of the electromagnetic coils 48 may be seen by reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. Preferably, the twin hull cargo carriers consisting of hulls 12 and 14 are loaded and submerged and lie adjacent to a wharf or dock prior to the mother sub moving under its own power or by way of a tug into overlying position. The power tube hull preferably moves along a longitudinal path parallel to the longitudinal axis of the dual cargo hulls l2 and 14 and being essentially centered with respect to the center line defined by the cargo hull coupling member 16. During this movement, preferably the bow and stem sets of lateral positioning and guide rods 50 are projected to their raised position. If there is some slight lateral misalignment between the mother sub and the paired cargo hulls 12 and 14, energization of one of the drive motors 62 associated with the positioning and guide rods 50 causes the lateral shifting of those rods by rotation of rod carrier 56 as seen in the dotted line position of the pair of rods 50 associated with hull l2 and 14 to cause the mother sub hull 10 to shift laterally to a position of exact alignment, that is, centered intermediate of the two hulls 12 and 14. By having the guide fins 52 at the bow of the mother ship in extended position, contact between guide fins 52 and the guide positioning and guide rods 50 insure the axial alignment necessary prior to energization of the electromagnetic coil 48. At this point, the trailing set of guide fins associated with trailing slots 82 will have just cleared the aft set of positioning and guide rods 50 and when this set of guide fins is shifted to the extended position by operation of hydraulic rams 84, the mother sub is properly positioned with respect to the underlying paired cargo hulls 12 and 14. Ballasting of the mother sub along with energization of the electromagnets 48 insure the dropping of the mother ship into contact position and correct magnetic coupling between the mother sub and the dual hull cargo carrier. Upon magnetic coupling, in the desired position, mechanical, fluid and electrical connections may be made between the mother sub and the cargo hull either automatically or by way of sealed access through surface contacting portions of the mother sub hull l0 and the dual cargo hulls l2 and 14.

As mentioned previously, the longitudinal bulkheads 18, 19 and the transverse bulkheads 26 create multiple axially spaced cargo storage compartments 30. As illustrated in FIG. 1, there are eight such cargo compartments, all of which have individually pivotable hatches overlying and pivoting about one longitudinal edge by hinge means 90, FIG. 3. This cannot be accomplished until the mother sub hull 10 has been separated from the cargo hulls l2 and 14. Further, if the cargo hulls 12 and 14 are lying beneath the surface of the water, it is necessary to discharge the sea water ballast from compartments 20 and 24, permitting the dual cargo hulls l2 and 14 to surface as a unit permitting access to the cargo containers by raising of the hatches, that is, pivoting each about its pivot axis. This permits access to the cargo containers 32 which preferably are formed of metal but are surfaced externally with a fiberglass coating to eliminate the problem of formation of static electricity due to the friction generated in removal of the containers 32 from the storage compartments 30. Preferably, the hatches 21 are activated by hydraulic rams (not shown) similar to rams and 86. In order to effect both sealing of hatches 21 and locking of the hatches 21 when in closed position, there is provided as best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8 a seal and locking groove 92 which underlies the bottom wall 94 of each hatch around the complete edge thereof and internally of hinge 90. Groove 92 is characterized by having a cross section whose entry portion 96 which is of a width somewhat smaller than the width of groove internally thereof. Further, at the periphery of the hatch 21, there is provided on the lower face of the hatch about its edge a hollow, expandable, sealing and locking gasket 98. A nipple 100 or like fitting permits compressed air or a hydraulic liquid under pressure to be injected within the hollow gasket to expand the gasket so that its outer surface which enters and fills groove 92 conforms to the configuration of the seal and locking groove 92 to thereby seal and lock each storage compartment relative to the cargo hull exterior. It is to be noted, in this respect, that each hatch 21 is preferably provided with a removable plug 102 permitting external access to the fitting 100 and pressurization and depressurization of the inflatable seal and lock gasket 98. Alternatively. remotely controlled internal pressuriza tion means may be employed within each hull l2 and 14.

Cargo containers 32 are essentially in block form and in elevational cross section, are tapered slightly from top to bottom on all four sides, to permit the containers to be raised and lowered easily with respect to the compartments 30 once the hatches 21 are pivoted to upright position.

It can be readily appreciated that the hatches 21 do not have to extend the full width of the surface of the respective cargo hulls, dual hatches opening from opposite sides may be employed. Rather than a single storage compartment 30 relative to the lateral dimension of the hulls, two or more side by side storage compartments 30 may be provided. Parallel, longitudinally spaced individual hatches may cover multiple compartments if desired. Regardless of whether petroleum is being transported or dry cargo in containers or otherwise, the dual hull cargo carrier may be raised and floated on the surface of the water after the detachment of the mother sub and ready access to the cargo may be had either fluidwise through suitable loading and unloading valves by way of through-hull fittings to the compartment interior or through the pivotable cargo hatches. in the meantime, the mother sub may proceed under her own power to another pair of cargo hulls loaded and ready for transport out of the harbor with minimum lay up of the mother sub for repairs, refueling and the like. This obtains maximum usage of the power unit. By employing the compartmentized dry cargo containerized conversion arrangement, there is no necessity to clean the bilges or to clean the cargo containers 32, since, in turn, these cargo containers 32 will be in themselves sealed preventing contamination of the cargo itself by the residual petroleum or crude oil.

Through-hull couplings 23 provide access to cargo areas 30, while plugs 25 with internal self closing valves permit the attachment of hoses at dockside, for instance, (not shown) to blow out the ballast and to permit raising of the submerged hull cargo carrier after uncoupling of the mother ship therefrom and its movement from overlying position.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit, and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A convertible submarine tanker for petroleum products, said tanker comprising:

a cylindrical power tube hull,

passive dual cylindrical cargo tube hulls separate from said power tube hull and fixedly coupled together in lateral alignment,

means for selectively controlling ballasting of said cylindrical power tube hulls and said dual cargo tube hulls to control their submergence independently, and

means for detachably coupling the upper, oppositely facing sides of said dual cargo tube hulls to respective lower sides of said power tube hull for suspending the cargo tube hulls therefrom when said power tube hull is centered in overlying position with respect to said dual cargo tube hulls;

whereby, said dual cargo tube hulls may be selectively submerged to permit said power tube hull to move into centered, overlying position with respect to said dual cargo tube hulls and subsequently submerge into contact therewith and said coupling means operated to couple said hulls together for subsequent unitary vessel movement with minimal total draft for the multi-hull submarine tanker.

2. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said cargo tube hulls is provided with longitudinally extending bulkheads to define a central sealed cargo area and ballasting tanks outside of said cargo area, and said cargo tube hulls are further provided with longitudinally spaced, transverse bulkheads defining individual dry cargo, storage compartments, at least some of said transverse bulkheads L e apertured to permit the free flow of liquid petroleurr. or the like, therethrough, and cargo hatches overlie the dry cargo storage compartments defined by said transverse bulkheads and are movable to positions permitting access to said dry cargo storage compartments.

3. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 2, wherein said longitudinal and lateral bulkheads define individual storage compartments which are essentially rectangular in plan and elevational configuration, and said tanker further comprises a plurality of dry cargo storage containers of modified block form having sidewalls tapering inwardly towards the bottom thereof to facilitate insertion and removal of the dry storage containers through said movable hatches.

4. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 3, wherein the outer surfaces of said dry cargo containers are formed of metal and the outer surfaces of which are provided with a fiberglass coating to eliminate the creation of static electricity during insertion and removal of said containers with respect to said storage compartments.

5. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 4, wherein said hatches are rectangular in plan configuration and are sector shaped in elevational cross section, said hatches being pivotably hinged to said cargo tube hull along one longitudinal side, rectangular openings within said cargo tube hulls permit access to the individual cargo compartments and said cargo tube hulls are provided with a continuous sealing and locking groove underlying the bottom of said pivotable hatch at each cargo compartment location and said pivotable hatch includes on the bottom surface thereof at its peripheral edge, in alignment with said sealing and locking groove, an inflatable, expandable sealing and locking gasket. and said sealing and locking groove has a gasket entry portion of a width somewhat smaller than the width of the groove internally thereof, whereby, inflation of the sealing and locking gasket causes the gasket to expand to conform to the surface of the sealing and locking groove to thereby seal and lock each storage compartment relative to the cargo hull exterior.

6. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 5, further comprising fore and aft sets of lateral positioning and guide rods positioned on the top of said cargo hulls and of a length equal to onehalf the height of said power tube hull, means for selectively moving said positioning and guide rods from position recessed with respect to the outer surface of said cargo tube hulls to right angle upright position. said rods of each set being positioned on respective cargo tube hulls and laterally with respect to each other a distance somewhat in excess of the maximum beam dimension of said power tube hull, and sets of projectable guide fins carried by said power tube hull on each sidewall at beam positions and at fore and aft positions corresponding generally to the longitudinal positions of said sets of positioning and guide rods carried by said cargo tube hulls, and means for selectively projecting said guide fins and said positioning and guide rods from respective hulls to permit said power bull to move longitudinally into a position in axial alignment with the center line of said dual power tube hulls and in lateral alignment therewith prior to operation of said coupling means and during submergence of the power tube hull into hull contact with said dual cargo tube hulls.

7. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 6, wherein further comprising means for pivoting said lateral positioning and guide rods about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull to effectively shift the power tube laterally to control the axial alignment between the power tube and the center line of the dual cargo tube hull.

8. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 3, wherein said hatches are rectangular in plan configuration and are sector shaped in elevational cross section, said hatches being pivotably hinged to said cargo tube hull along one longitudinal side, the rectangular openings within said cargo tube hulls permit access to the individual cargo compartments and said cargo tube bulls are provided with a continuous sealing and locking groove underlying the bottom of said pivotable hatch at each cargo compartment location and said pivotable hatch includes on the bottom surface thereof at its peripheral edge, in alignment with said sealing and locking groove, an inflatable, expandable sealing and locking gasket, and sealing and locking groove has a gasket entry portion of a width somewhat smaller than the width of the groove internally thereof, whereby, inflation of the sealing and locking gasket causes the gasket to expand to conform to the surface of the sealing and locking groove to thereby seal and lock each storage compartment relative to the cargo hull exterior.

9. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 3, further comprising fore and aft sets of lateral positioning and guide rods positioned on the top of said cargo hulls and of a length equal to one-half the height of said power tube hull, means for selectively moving said positioning and guide rods from position recessed with re spect to the outer surface of said cargo tube hulls to right angle upright position, said rods of each set being positioned on respective cargo tube hulls and laterally with respect to each other a distance somewhat in excess of the maximum beam dimension of said power tube hull, and sets of projectable guide fins carried by said power tube hull on each sidewall at beam positions and at fore and aft positions corresponding generally to the longitudinal positions of said sets of positioning and guide rods carried by said cargo tube hulls, and means for selectively projecting said guide fins and said posi tioning and guide rods from respective hulls to permit said power hull to move longitudinally into a position in axial alignment with the center line of said dual power tube hulls in lateral alignment therewith prior to operation of said coupling means and during submergence of the power tube hull into hull contact with said dual cargo tube hulls.

10. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 9, wherein further comprising means for pivoting said lateral positioning and guide rods about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull to effectively shift the power tube laterally to control the axial alignment between the power tube and the center line of the dual cargo tube hull.

1]. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim I, wherein said means for coupling said power tube hull to said dual cargo tube hulls comprise magnetic plates carried on opposed, upper sidewalls of respective cargo tube hulls and electromagnetic coils carried by said power tube hull internally thereof and operatively facing the magnetic plates of said dual cargo tube hulls, an electrical power source, and means for selectively coupling said power source to said coils to create electromagnetic coupling fields.

12. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim further comprising fore and aft sets of lateral positioning and guide rods positioned on the top of said cargo hulls and of a length equal to one-half the height of said power tube hull, means for selectively moving said positioning and guide rods from position recessed with respect to the outer surface of said cargo tube hulls to right angle upright position, said rods of each set being positioned on respective cargo tube hulls and laterally with respect to each other a distance somewhat in excess of the maximum beam dimension of said power tube hull, and sets of projectable guide fins carried by said power tube hull on each sidewall at beam positions and at fore and aft positions corresponding generally to the longitudinal positions of said sets of positioning and guide rods carried by said cargo tube hulls, and means for selectively projecting said guide fins and said posi tioning and guide rods from respective hulls to permit said power hull to move longitudinally into a position in axial alignment with the center line of said dual power tube hulls and in lateral alignment therewith prior to operation of said coupling means and during submergence of the power tube hull into hull contact with said dual cargo tube hulls.

13. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim [2, wherein further comprising means for providing said lateral positioning and guide rods about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull to effectively shift the power tube laterally to control the axial alignment between the power tube and the center line of the dual cargo tube hull.

14. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 13, wherein said cargo tube hulls at fore and aft positions are slotted, an elongated rod carrier is positioned within each slot and mounted on pivot pins at forward and aft ends to permit pivoting about an axis in longitudinal alignment with the longitudinal axis of the cargo tube hull housing the same, a drive motor is operatively coupled to said rod carrier for positively driving said rod carrier about its pivot axis, said lateral positioning and guide rod for each rod carrier, is pivoted at its lower end to one end of said rod carrier and about a transverse axis at right angles to the longitudinal pivot axis of said rod carrier, and a hydraulic ram for each rod is pivotably coupled at one end to said rod carrier and to said lateral positioning and guide rod outboard of the pivot connection between said rod and said rod carrier at the other end thereof to permit retraction of said positioning and guide rod within said rod carrier and for projecting said rod to an upright position with respect thereto by operation of said hydraulic ram.

15. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 14, wherein on each side of said power tube hull at said fore and aft locations tranverse recesses are provided within said hull, each guide fin comprises a triangular shaped plate pivotably coupled at an apex to said hull hydraulic ram. 

1. A convertible submarine tanker for petroleum products, said tanker comprising: a cylindrical power tube hull, passive dual cylindrical cargo tube hulls separate from said power tube hull and fixedly coupled together in lateral alignment, means for selectively controlling ballasting of said cylindrical power tube hulls and said dual cargo tube hulls to control their submergence independently, and means for detachably coupling the upper, oppositely facing sides of said dual cargo tube hulls to respective lower sides of said power tube hull for suspending the cargo tube hulls therefrom when said power tube hull is centered in overlying position with respect to said dual cargo tube hulls; whereby, said dual cargo tube hulls may be selectively submerged to permit said power tube hull to move into centered, overlying position with respect to said dual cargo tube hulls and subsequently submerge into contact therewith and said coupling means operated to couple said hulls together for subsequent unitary vessel movement with minimal total draft for the multihull submarine tanker.
 2. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said cargo tube hulls is provided with longitudinally extending bulkheads to define a central sealed cargo area and ballasting tanks outside of said cargo area, and said cargo tube hulls are further provided with longitudinally spaced, transverse bulkheads defining individual dry cargo, storage compartments, at least some of said transverse bulkheads are apertured to permit the free flow of liquid petroleum or the like, therethrough, and cargo hatches overlie the dry cargo storage compartments defined by said transverse bulkheads and are movable to positions permitting access to said dry cargo storage compartments.
 3. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 2, wherein said longitudinal and lateral bulkheads define individual storage compartments which are essentially rectangular in plan and elevational configuration, and said tanker further comprises a plurality of dry cargo storage containers of modified block form having sidewalls tapering inwardly towards the bottom thereof to facilitate insertion and removal of the dry storage containers through said movable hatches.
 4. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 3, wherein the outer surfaces of said dry cargo containers are formed of metal and the outer surfaces of which are provided with a fiberglass coating to eliminate the creation of static electricity during insertion and removal of said containers with respect to said storage compartments.
 5. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 4, wherein said hatches are rectangular in plan configuration and are sector shaped in elevational cross section, said hatches being pivotably hinged to said cargo tube hull along one longitudinal side, rectangular openings within said cargo tube hulls permit access to the individual cargo compartments and said cargo tube hulls are provided with a continuous sealing and locking groove underlying the bottom of said pivotable hatch at each cargo Compartment location and said pivotable hatch includes on the bottom surface thereof at its peripheral edge, in alignment with said sealing and locking groove, an inflatable, expandable sealing and locking gasket, and said sealing and locking groove has a gasket entry portion of a width somewhat smaller than the width of the groove internally thereof, whereby, inflation of the sealing and locking gasket causes the gasket to expand to conform to the surface of the sealing and locking groove to thereby seal and lock each storage compartment relative to the cargo hull exterior.
 6. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 5, further comprising fore and aft sets of lateral positioning and guide rods positioned on the top of said cargo hulls and of a length equal to one-half the height of said power tube hull, means for selectively moving said positioning and guide rods from position recessed with respect to the outer surface of said cargo tube hulls to right angle upright position, said rods of each set being positioned on respective cargo tube hulls and laterally with respect to each other a distance somewhat in excess of the maximum beam dimension of said power tube hull, and sets of projectable guide fins carried by said power tube hull on each sidewall at beam positions and at fore and aft positions corresponding generally to the longitudinal positions of said sets of positioning and guide rods carried by said cargo tube hulls, and means for selectively projecting said guide fins and said positioning and guide rods from respective hulls to permit said power hull to move longitudinally into a position in axial alignment with the center line of said dual power tube hulls and in lateral alignment therewith prior to operation of said coupling means and during submergence of the power tube hull into hull contact with said dual cargo tube hulls.
 7. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 6, wherein further comprising means for pivoting said lateral positioning and guide rods about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull to effectively shift the power tube laterally to control the axial alignment between the power tube and the center line of the dual cargo tube hull.
 8. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 3, wherein said hatches are rectangular in plan configuration and are sector shaped in elevational cross section, said hatches being pivotably hinged to said cargo tube hull along one longitudinal side, the rectangular openings within said cargo tube hulls permit access to the individual cargo compartments and said cargo tube hulls are provided with a continuous sealing and locking groove underlying the bottom of said pivotable hatch at each cargo compartment location and said pivotable hatch includes on the bottom surface thereof at its peripheral edge, in alignment with said sealing and locking groove, an inflatable, expandable sealing and locking gasket, and sealing and locking groove has a gasket entry portion of a width somewhat smaller than the width of the groove internally thereof, whereby, inflation of the sealing and locking gasket causes the gasket to expand to conform to the surface of the sealing and locking groove to thereby seal and lock each storage compartment relative to the cargo hull exterior.
 9. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 3, further comprising fore and aft sets of lateral positioning and guide rods positioned on the top of said cargo hulls and of a length equal to one-half the height of said power tube hull, means for selectively moving said positioning and guide rods from position recessed with respect to the outer surface of said cargo tube hulls to right angle upright position, said rods of each set being positioned on respective cargo tube hulls and laterally with respect to each other a distance somewhat in excess of the maximum beam dimension of said power tube hull, and sets of projectable guide fins carried by said power tube hull on each sidewall at beam positions and at fore and aft positions correspondinG generally to the longitudinal positions of said sets of positioning and guide rods carried by said cargo tube hulls, and means for selectively projecting said guide fins and said positioning and guide rods from respective hulls to permit said power hull to move longitudinally into a position in axial alignment with the center line of said dual power tube hulls in lateral alignment therewith prior to operation of said coupling means and during submergence of the power tube hull into hull contact with said dual cargo tube hulls.
 10. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 9, wherein further comprising means for pivoting said lateral positioning and guide rods about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull to effectively shift the power tube laterally to control the axial alignment between the power tube and the center line of the dual cargo tube hull.
 11. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for coupling said power tube hull to said dual cargo tube hulls comprise magnetic plates carried on opposed, upper sidewalls of respective cargo tube hulls and electromagnetic coils carried by said power tube hull internally thereof and operatively facing the magnetic plates of said dual cargo tube hulls, an electrical power source, and means for selectively coupling said power source to said coils to create electromagnetic coupling fields.
 12. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 1, further comprising fore and aft sets of lateral positioning and guide rods positioned on the top of said cargo hulls and of a length equal to one-half the height of said power tube hull, means for selectively moving said positioning and guide rods from position recessed with respect to the outer surface of said cargo tube hulls to right angle upright position, said rods of each set being positioned on respective cargo tube hulls and laterally with respect to each other a distance somewhat in excess of the maximum beam dimension of said power tube hull, and sets of projectable guide fins carried by said power tube hull on each sidewall at beam positions and at fore and aft positions corresponding generally to the longitudinal positions of said sets of positioning and guide rods carried by said cargo tube hulls, and means for selectively projecting said guide fins and said positioning and guide rods from respective hulls to permit said power hull to move longitudinally into a position in axial alignment with the center line of said dual power tube hulls and in lateral alignment therewith prior to operation of said coupling means and during submergence of the power tube hull into hull contact with said dual cargo tube hulls.
 13. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 12, wherein further comprising means for providing said lateral positioning and guide rods about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull to effectively shift the power tube laterally to control the axial alignment between the power tube and the center line of the dual cargo tube hull.
 14. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 13, wherein said cargo tube hulls at fore and aft positions are slotted, an elongated rod carrier is positioned within each slot and mounted on pivot pins at forward and aft ends to permit pivoting about an axis in longitudinal alignment with the longitudinal axis of the cargo tube hull housing the same, a drive motor is operatively coupled to said rod carrier for positively driving said rod carrier about its pivot axis, said lateral positioning and guide rod for each rod carrier, is pivoted at its lower end to one end of said rod carrier and about a transverse axis at right angles to the longitudinal pivot axis of said rod carrier, and a hydraulic ram for each rod is pivotably coupled at one end to said rod carrier and to said lateral positioning and guide rod outboard of the pivot connection between said rod and said rod carrier at the other end thereof to permit retraction of said positioning and guide rod within said rod carrier and for projectIng said rod to an upright position with respect thereto by operation of said hydraulic ram.
 15. The submarine tanker as claimed in claim 14, wherein on each side of said power tube hull at said fore and aft locations tranverse recesses are provided within said hull, each guide fin comprises a triangular shaped plate pivotably coupled at an apex to said hull within said recess, and a second hydraulic ram is pivotably coupled to said guide fin at a point spaced from said pivot point at one end and to said power tube hull at the other, whereupon said guide fin is pivoted about its pivot axis from a position completely housed within said recess, to a position wherein the guide pin projects outwardly therefrom at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the power tube hull, by operation of said second hydraulic ram. 